Moving-van.



No. 740,350. PATENTBD SEPT. 29, 1903.

V A. B. YETTBR. I MOVING VAN.

- APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 25, 1903.

NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES. INVENTOH' ATTORNEYS.

PATENTED SEPT. 29, 1903.,

A. B. YETTER. MOVING VAN. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25, mos.

no MODEL.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S E N WITNESSES: I 3

UNITED STATES annnnw B. YETTER,

iatented September 29, 1903".

or New YORK, N. Y.

MOVING-VAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,350, datedSeptember 29, 1903. Application filed February 25, 1903. $erial No.144,959. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom, it may concern: v

Beit known that I, ANDREWVB. YETTER, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the countyand State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Storage Van- Boxand Carrier, of which the following is a full, clear,and exactdescription.

The purpose of the invention is to provide a construction of moving-vanin which the boxor body is roller-supported upon the running-gear andmeans for providing for retaining the van or box upon the running-gearwhile in transportation, for example, from the storage-house to thehouse or apartment from which the material is to be removed and to soconstruct the truck or running-gear that after the body or box hasreceived its load and is securely sealed the said box or body may bequickly and conveniently released from its fastening devices uponreaching the storage-house and expeditiously and without impedimenttransferred to a platform-truck, so that the sealed receptacle can bereadily carried to any desired position in said storage-house by theassistance of an elevator or by other usual means and upon being removedfrom the platform truck can be set up in its locked and sealedcondition, thus assuring, as far as possible, the storage-receptaclebeing stored in the same looked condition as .thatin which it left thepremises at which the load was received. Under such a construction ofmoving-van it is evident that when a van of the character described isthe first inspection that the contents of the storage box-or body of thevan are in the same position and in the same quantity as when loaded.Under such a construction of storage-van it is evident that separatecompartments in storage-houses need not be constructed, and as each boxor body constitutes a safe or receptacle in itself its contents arepractically secure. It is further evident that such a construction ofvan-box dispenses with numerous haudlings of the material to betransported, thus economizing in time as well as wear and tear of thearticles.

Another purpose of the invention is to so construct the truck that theforward hounds, having the drivers seat, front wheels, and

.draft device attached, may be quickly removed from the main portion ofthe truck carrying the bodyv or box, means being provided at such timefor sustaining the forward end of the main portion of the truck, therebyenabling one team after placing a storage-van in position to receive aload to be utilized to draw another van into position for loading andthen return and be connected with the van-box and its wheeled supportprecedingly positioned.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts inall the figures.

Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section through the improvedconstruction of stor age van-box and support, the section being takenpractically on the line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of thecomplete truck employed to support a carrier or van box or body. Fig. 3is a rear elevation of the vehicle complete. Fig. 4 is a plan view of aplat form-truck employed for removing the van box or body from therunning-gear of the vehicle to a storage position within the storage-wareh0use. Fig. 5 is a section taken practically on the line 5 5 ofFig. 4, illustrating more in detail the construction of theplatform-truck 5 and Fig. 6 is an enlarged-view illustrating a partialvertical section through the storage van-box or body and its.rollersupport on the running-gear of the vehicle.

A represents a box or body, which is adapted to be carried by awheel-supported frame or runninggear B and is removable from such frame.constructed in any suitable or approved manner and-may be of any desireddimensions, but is usually made as near as possible waterproof andfireproof without adding materially to its weight.

The box or body A is preferably permanently closed at its sides, top,bottom, and front and is provided with one or more (pref- This box orbodyA may be erably two) doors at its rear or side having suitablehinged connection with the body proper. These doors when two areemployed, as illustrated in Fig. 3, have one a transverse bar 1 1attached thereto exteriorly, transversely, and rigidly at about itscenter, while the opposing door has a corresponding bar 12, pivotallyattached to the door and movable upward and downward from a keeper 13,secured to the door upon which the fixed bar is located. Both of thesebars 11 and 12 at their opposing ends have apertured flanges throughwhich the bail of a padlock, for example, maybe passed in order to lockthe doors 1O closed, as is also fully shown in Fig.

3. The box or body A is further provided with angular channel-tracks 14,securely fastened to its bottom portion and extending longitudinallythereof, one at each side of the center, as is shown.in Figs. 1, 3, and6. The box or body A is adapted to rest upon and to be carried by therunning-gear B, which is preferably of the character shown particularlyin Fig. 2. This running-gear consists of a rear or main section b and aforward and auxiliary section b, detachably connected with the rear ormain section b. The rear or main section b is usually of rectangularform and comprises parallel side beams 15, a front cross-bar 16, and arear cross-bar 17, the said bars being connected in any approved mannersuitable to the requirements of the box or body A tovbe supported.

An axle 18 is located at the rear portion of the main section b of therunning-gear, extending beyond its sides, and at the ends of this axle18 suitable wheels 19 are mounted to revolve. Friction-rollers 20 arejournaled in suitable supports 21 at suitable-intervals apartlongitudinally at the upper faces of the side beams 15, as is shownparticularly in Figs. 2 and 6. Rear hounds 22 are attached to the rearportion of the main section b of the running-gear B, and these houndsextend forwardly beyond the front cross-bar 16, converging as theyextend forward. The said rear hounds 22 are connected at their forwardends and are apertured to receive a king-bolt 23. This king-bolt 23, asis best shown in Fig. 1, passes down in the usual manner through aforward axle 24, constituting a portion of the auxiliary or frontsection of the said running-gear B. The construction of this front orauxiliary section b of the running-gear B consists, in addition to thefront axle 24, of forward hounds 26,which are suit-ably attached to theforward axle and extend forwardly and rearwardly beyond the same, theforward hounds at their rear ends being connected by a cross-bar 27,having friction-rollers, if desired, and in the normal position of thetwo sections of the runninggear B the rear crossbar 27 of the forwardhounds 26 'is below the forward cross-bar 16 of the rear or main sectionb of the saidrunning-gear. The forward ends of the forbraces 32, ifnecessary, the said standards being connected in any suitable orapproved manner with the forward axle 24, as is best shown in Fig. 1. Inconnection with the drivers seat 30 a foot-rest 33 is employed, alsosupported by the standards 31 and having an opening therein whichpermits ready access to the king-bolt 23, as is shownin both- .Figs. 1and 2.

When the van is in position for loading, it is frequently desirable thatthe forward section b of the running-gear shall be detached from therear or main section b, which is accomplished by the removal of theking-bolt 23, in order that the forward section b of the running-gearmay be drawn off and utilized for connection with another rear or mainsection I), so as to bring another box or body A in position to receivea load. At such time the main or rear portion b of the runninggear Bshould have a support at its forward portion, and such a support isprovided by pivoting a shaft 35 below the frame of the rear or mainsection b, adjacent to the front cross-bar, as is shown also in Figs. 1and 2, and providing this shaft 35 with legs 34,which may be droppeddown to an engagement with the ground, as is shown in Fig. 1. I Whenthese supporting-legs 34 are not needed, they are carried upward andrearward, as is illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and are held intheir upper position by suitable latches 36.

The box or body A is held from accidentally slipping from ofi itswheeled support by stakeblocks 37, which are passed down throughsuitable openings 39,madein the rear cross-bar 17 of the main section bof the running-gear, and the said body or box A is prevented fromaccidentally moving too far.

forward by similar stake-blocks 38, which may be passed down throughopenings 40 in the forward cross-bar 16 of the said main section I) ofthe running-gear or through openings 41, located in the forward portionof the rear hounds 22, or through any other convenient part of theforward portion of the running-gear.

It is obvious that when a box-body has been loaded and sealed and hasbeen carried to the storage warehouse it can be readily and bodilyseparated from the running-gear by simply removing the rear stake-blocks37, as the roller-supports for the said box or body A enable the saidbox or body to be readily handled upon the said running-gear, either toplace it in position thereon or to remove it bodily therefrom, asstated.

In Fig. 1 I have illustrated the van in position to receive a load, therear wheels of the ICU truck being backed against the curb 42 of thesidewalk, and in order that the material or the articles to be loadedinto the box or body A shall be protected from the inclemency of theweather I preferably use a canopy 43, extending from the rear of thesaid box or body A to the passage-way through which said material to beloaded is to be taken.

When the van reaches the storage-warehouse, a platform-truck O isemployed to receive the box or body A when it is removed from therunning-gear, and preferably this platform-truck is constructed as isshown in Figs. 4 and 5 and may be of any desired shape or dimensions. Asillustrated, however,the truck consists of a rectangular frame having acentral cross-bar, and upon the upper face of the side bars of the saidtruck friction-rollers 44 are located, which enable the body or box A tobe readily'handled on the truck and to be conveniently removed therefromwhen the body or box is to be placed in position for storage. This truck0 is provided with a central caster-wheel 45, extending downwardly fromthe central crossbar of the frame or body of the truck, and

with corner caster-wheels 46,extending in the same direction; but thecorner caster-wheels 46 do not extend down as far as the centralcaster-wheel 45, so that the truck can be readily supported when it istraveling by means of the corner caster-wheels atone end and the centralcasterwheel and so that when the truck is to be turned it need simply bebrought to a horizontal position, .whereupon it may be pivotallysupported on the rearward section to the axle of the forward section andhaving detachable connection therewith, and additional hounds extendingrearwardly of said axle, to and beneath the forward part of saidrearward section.

2. A moving-van or similar vehicle, constructed of a running-gear, abody removably mounted thereon, means for preventing endwise movement ofthe body, said runninggear comprising a rearward wheel-supported sectionand a forward wheel-supported section, combined with hounds extendingfrom said rearward section, and having pivotal and detachable connectiontherewith, and additional hounds extending rearwardly of said axle, toand beneath the forward part of said rearward section.

3. A moving-van or similar vehicle, con-.

structed of a running-gear, a' body removably mounted thereon, saidrunning-gear comprising a rearward wheel-supported section and a forwardwheel-supported section, the section first named being provided withadjustable supports, intermediate the ends thereof, combined with houndsextending from said rearward section to the axle of the forward section,and having detachable connection therewith, and additional houndsextending rearwardly of said axle, to and beneath the forward part ofsaid rearward section.

4. In storage-vans, a running-gear consisting of a rear wheel-supportedsection, a forward wheel-supported section, pivotally and removablyconnected with the rear section, and adjustable supports carried by therear section at a point intermediateof its ends, for the purposedescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW B. YETTER.

Witnesses:

J. FRED AcKER, JNO, M. BITTER.

